It’s wet and getting darker; Autumn is well and truly here. But every cloud has a silver lining – It’s National Apple Month from mid-September through to October, a celebration of one of the nation’s favourite fruits (we have no less than 2,300 varieties preserved in the National Fruit Collection).
What is Apple Month?
This annual celebration of apples and orchards has evolved from World Apple Day, traditionally held on the 21st of October; events are held across the country, ranging from apple games in public gardens to village fairs with cookery demonstrations, juice and cider, and the sale of many hundreds of apple varieties.
One Gin will be joining in the apple festivities as this multi-faceted fruit has special significance for us; our perfect G&T is served with a quality tonic and a couple of fresh, crisp apple slices (and a sage leaf when in season)…They go beautifully with the distinctive sage flavour profile of our gin…And you get the added bonus of having a very tasty apple slice to nibble on when your glass is sadly empty.
Apples and Gin?
Apples are also very close to our hearts as earlier this year, we launched our second ‘child’, One ‘sage and apple’ gin, an orchard-fresh twist on the original, to great acclaim with The Craft Gin Club (we recently discovered that it is rather extraordinary as an after-dinner digestive. Just don’t forget to put the bottle in the freezer for a couple of hours beforehand).
Our Celebration
To celebrate all things apple, in the next few weeks, we will be sharing recipes, weird and wonderful facts, and cocktails featuring apples. Last weekend, we celebrated Apple Day at Morden Hall Park, and noted that visitors were rather partial to our seasonal hot gin and cider cocktail. This coming Sunday 6th October, we are off to Fulham Palace for more Appleness and celebrations in the walled garden, from tastings to live music to beekeeping and woodturning demonstrations, to a hotly anticipated baking competition, children’s activities, storytelling and more.
We consume around 122,000 tonnes of apples a year – that’s enough to fill 325 swimming pools
If you can’t join us this weekend, you can still partake in the festivities, with our Apple Month Competition: Share your favourite apple and gin cocktail by tagging us or using #onegoodgin and you can win a bottle of One ‘sage and apple’ Gin, with two gleaming Root 7 copper mugs
If you are not one of lucky ones, you can still treat yourself or someone special to a One Gin 70 cl + 2 copper mugs pack.
45% of apples grown in UK are used to make cider.
Cocktail of the month: Hot Gin and Apple Cider
A warming cocktail that’s just perfect for a night out trick or treating, at fireworks displays or a cosy night in.
GLASS
Mug
INGREDIENTS
750ml good quality dry cider
150ml One ‘sage’ Gin
50ml honey
2 x mulling spice bags (available from supermarkets)
Peel of 1 orange & 1 lemon (discarding the pith)
1 orange & 1 lemon sliced
METHOD
Add mulling spice bags, orange and lemon peel slices and cider to a saucepan and warm gently. Once hot, stir in honey, add One Gin and ladle into mugs to serve.
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